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HF699 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Last action
2025-04-03
Official status
Referred to Health and Human Services. H.J. 896 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-03 Iowa Legislature

    Referred to Health and Human Services. H.J. 896 .

  2. 2025-03-18 Iowa Legislature

    Amendment H-1127 filed. H.J. 721 .

  3. 2025-02-28 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 481 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia and drug-checking equipment.(Formerly HF 487 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

699

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

699

BY

COMMITTEE

ON

HEALTH

AND

HUMAN

SERVICES

(SUCCESSOR

TO

HF

487)

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

drug

paraphernalia

and

drug-checking

1

equipment.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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699

Section

1.

Section

124.414,

subsection

1,

paragraph

b,

Code

1

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

b.

“Drug

paraphernalia”

does

not

include

hypodermic

any

of

3

the

following:

4

(1)

Hypodermic

needles

or

syringes

if

manufactured,

5

delivered,

sold,

or

possessed

for

a

lawful

purpose.

6

(2)

Fentanyl

test

strips,

xylazine

test

strips,

or

other

7

materials

used

or

intended

for

use

in

testing

for

the

presence

8

of

fentanyl,

xylazine,

or

a

fentanyl

or

xylazine

analog

in

a

9

substance.

10

(3)

Other

drug-checking

equipment

used

to

inform

11

individuals

of

whether

a

substance

has

been

adulterated

by

the

12

presence

of

a

synthetic

opioid,

another

controlled

substance,

13

or

undisclosed

chemical

compound

or

contaminant.

14

(4)

Materials

used

by

agents

of

organizations

that

provide

15

harm

reduction

services

authorized

by

the

state,

a

county,

a

16

municipality,

or

a

public

health

department

in

the

processing,

17

preparing,

packaging,

repackaging,

storing,

or

containing

of

18

a

nominal

amount

of

a

controlled

substance

for

the

purpose

of

19

confirmatory

testing.

20

(5)

Drug-checking

equipment

used,

purchased,

transported,

21

or

distributed

by

agents

of

organizations

that

provide

harm

22

reduction

services

authorized

by

the

state,

a

county,

a

23

municipality,

or

a

public

health

department.

24

Sec.

2.

NEW

SECTION

.

124.414A

Drug-checking

equipment

use

25

permitted.

26

1.

As

used

in

this

section

and

section

124.414:

27

a.

“Drug

checking”

means

the

process

of

identifying,

28

analyzing,

or

detecting

the

composition

of

a

drug

or

the

29

presence

or

composition

of

an

unexpected

substance

within

the

30

drug.

31

b.

“Drug-checking

equipment”

means

equipment,

products,

32

or

materials

used,

designed

for

use,

or

intended

for

use

to

33

perform

drug

checking,

including

materials

and

items

used

34

by

the

person

operating

the

equipment

or

products

to

store,

35

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699

measure,

or

process

samples

for

analysis.

“Drug-checking

1

equipment”

includes

fentanyl

test

strips,

xylazine

test

strips,

2

other

immunoassay

drug

testing

strips,

colorimetric

reagents,

3

spectrometers

such

as

Fourier

transform

infrared

and

Raman

4

spectrometers,

and

equipment

that

uses

high-performance

5

liquid

chromatography,

gas

chromatography,

mass

spectrometry,

6

and

nuclear

magnetic

resonance

techniques.

“Drug-checking

7

equipment”

does

not

include

the

substances

being

analyzed,

drug

8

packaging,

or

drug

supplies.

9

c.

“Drug-checking

packaging”

means

the

materials

or

items

10

used

by

agents

of

organizations

that

provide

harm

reduction

11

services

to

safely

store,

contain,

cover,

or

transport

small

12

amounts

of

one

or

more

controlled

substances

or

controlled

13

substance

analogs.

“Drug-checking

packaging”

includes

but

is

14

not

limited

to

plastic

bags,

plastic

vials,

glass

vials,

and

15

wax

paper

bindles.

16

d.

“Eligible

activities”

means

purchasing,

obtaining,

17

providing,

transporting,

distributing,

using,

or

evaluating

the

18

use

of

drug-checking

equipment

by

organizations

that

provide

19

harm

reduction

services.

20

e.

“Harm

reduction”

means

a

program,

service,

support,

or

21

resource

that

attempts

to

reduce

the

adverse

consequences

of

22

substance

use

among

people

who

use

substances.

“Harm

reduction”

23

addresses

conditions

that

give

rise

to

substance

use,

as

well

24

as

the

substance

use

itself,

and

may

include

but

is

not

limited

25

to

drug

checking,

naloxone

distribution,

and

education

about

26

laws

protecting

overdose

reporters,

as

defined

in

section

27

214.418.

28

2.

A

person

may

do

any

of

the

following:

29

a.

Obtain,

possess,

purchase,

sell,

provide,

transport,

30

distribute,

use,

or

request

another

person

to

use

drug-checking

31

equipment.

32

b.

Possess,

transport,

deliver,

or

provide

drug

33

paraphernalia

or

a

nominal

amount

of

one

or

more

controlled

34

substances

or

controlled

substance

analogs

for,

or

during,

35

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699

analysis

by

drug-checking

equipment.

1

c.

Possess,

provide,

or

communicate

the

results

of

the

2

drug-checking

analysis

in

paper,

electronic,

or

verbal

form.

3

3.

The

state

may

authorize

use

of

state

or

4

state-administered

funds

including

but

not

limited

to

5

moneys

in

the

Iowa

opioid

litigation

settlement

proceeds

fund

6

for

eligible

drug-checking

activities.

7

4.

No

person

shall

prohibit

another

person

from

using

8

federal

funds

for

eligible

drug-checking

activities,

provided

9

the

use

of

the

federal

funds

is

consistent

with

federal

law

and

10

any

rules

governing

use

of

the

funds.

11

5.

No

person

shall

be

subject

to

the

following

for

engaging

12

in

any

act

authorized

under

this

section:

13

a.

Arrested,

charged,

prosecuted,

or

subject

to

revocation

14

of

probation,

parole,

or

pretrial

release.

15

b.

Civil,

disciplinary,

or

administrative

action.

16

c.

The

loss

of

one

or

more

dependents.

17

d.

The

loss

of

housing.

18

e.

Any

other

punitive

action

or

penalty

taken

against

the

19

person

for

engaging

in

any

act

authorized

under

this

section.

20

6.

The

fact

that

a

person

engages

in

any

act

authorized

21

under

this

section

shall

not:

22

a.

Serve

as

the

basis,

in

whole

or

in

part,

for

a

23

determination

by

a

law

enforcement

officer

or

any

court

of

24

probable

cause

or

reasonable

suspicion

to

stop,

search,

or

25

arrest

the

person

or

search

or

seize

the

person’s

property.

26

b.

Be

admissible

as

evidence

in

a

criminal

case

or

27

administrative

action

against

the

person.

28

7.

The

results

from

a

drug-checking

analysis

shall

not

be

29

used

by

any

person

for

treatment

or

other

clinical

decisions,

30

in

any

criminal

investigation,

or

as

evidence

in

a

criminal

31

case

or

administrative

action.

32

EXPLANATION

33

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

34

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

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699

This

bill

relates

to

drug

paraphernalia

and

drug-checking

1

equipment.

2

Under

current

law,

a

person

who

knowingly

or

intentionally

3

manufactures,

delivers,

sells,

or

possesses

drug

paraphernalia

4

commits

a

simple

misdemeanor.

Hypodermic

needles

or

syringes

5

manufactured,

delivered,

sold,

or

possessed

for

a

lawful

6

purpose

are

exempt

from

the

definition

of

“drug

paraphernalia”.

7

The

bill

also

exempts

test

strips

or

other

materials

used

or

8

intended

for

use

in

testing

for

the

presence

of

fentanyl,

9

xylazine,

or

a

fentanyl

or

xylazine

analog

in

a

substance;

10

drug-checking

equipment

used

to

inform

individuals

of

whether

11

a

substance

has

been

adulterated;

materials

used

by

agents

12

of

organizations

that

provide

harm

reduction

services

in

13

the

processing,

preparing,

packaging,

repackaging,

storing,

14

or

containing

of

a

nominal

amount

of

a

controlled

substance

15

for

the

purpose

of

confirmatory

testing;

and

drug-checking

16

equipment

used,

purchased,

transported,

or

distributed

by

17

agents

of

organizations

that

provide

harm

reduction

services

18

authorized

by

the

state,

a

county,

a

municipality,

or

a

public

19

health

department

from

the

definition

of

“drug

paraphernalia”.

20

The

bill

provides

that

a

person

may

do

any

of

the

following:

21

obtain,

possess,

purchase,

sell,

provide,

transport,

22

distribute,

use,

or

request

another

person

to

use

drug-checking

23

equipment;

possess,

transport,

deliver,

or

provide

drug

24

paraphernalia

or

a

nominal

amount

of

one

or

more

controlled

25

substances

or

controlled

substance

analogs

for,

or

during,

26

analysis

by

drug-checking

equipment;

and

possess,

provide,

or

27

communicate

the

results

of

the

drug-checking

analysis

in

paper,

28

electronic,

or

verbal

form.

29

The

bill

provides

that

the

state

may

authorize

use

of

state

30

or

state-administered

funds

including

but

not

limited

to

moneys

31

in

the

Iowa

opioid

litigation

settlement

proceeds

fund

for

32

eligible

drug-checking

activities.

33

The

bill

provides

that

no

person

shall

be

subject

to

the

34

following

for

engaging

in

any

act

authorized

by

the

bill:

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699

arrested,

charged,

prosecuted,

or

subject

to

revocation

of

1

probation,

parole,

or

pretrial

release;

civil,

disciplinary,

or

2

administrative

action;

the

loss

of

one

or

more

dependents;

the

3

loss

of

housing;

or

any

other

punitive

action

or

penalty

taken

4

against

the

person.

5

The

bill

provides

that

the

fact

that

a

person

is

engaging

in

6

any

act

authorized

by

the

bill

shall

not:

serve

as

the

basis

7

for

a

determination

by

a

law

enforcement

officer

or

any

court

8

of

probable

cause

or

reasonable

suspicion

to

stop,

search,

or

9

arrest

the

person

or

search

or

seize

the

person’s

property;

or

10

be

admissible

as

evidence

in

a

criminal

case

or

administrative

11

action

against

the

person.

The

results

from

a

drug-checking

12

analysis

shall

not

be

used

by

any

person

for

treatment

or

13

other

clinical

decisions,

in

any

criminal

investigation,

or

as

14

evidence

in

a

criminal

case

or

administrative

action.

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